It's A New Day - Wednesday March 5, 2015

Well, first of all, my sleeping patterns are way off so I probably slept 4 hours and was up again early so when my niece said she would call soon (and it was 5:00 am) it didn't matter to me.  So we had a lovely conversation! I figured out how much international calling is and, for me, it is about $12 hr. so a few friendly calls overseas is a welcome treat! Especially in these early stages before I make local contacts. Also, my birthday is Sunday and I am transitioning here! So, I'll let it slide. Also, I am mostly cooking at home so I am saving money there. My birthday is Sunday but I am celebrating Saturday by taking myself out to a nice Parisien lunch to celebrate then hanging out at the Louvre the rest of the day. Nice birthday!

Friday, March 7, 2015

So, I washed my hair and did 2 very small loads of laundry before taking off to the electronic store to get some adapters.

Laundry - so I read the instructions the owner gave me on how to run the washer. This machine is a combined washer/dryer and it takes about 3 hours to do a small load of wash.  If you don't press the bottom "Sechage" to dry your clothes, you can hang them out to dry on an indoors drying rack or the heated towel bar.  Saves time!  The washer/dryer combo is about 2 1/2 feet tall.

When you open the lid you see a clamp of sorts to a drum that turns vertically - like a Ferris wheel.

You put your clothes in, clamp the drum closure tight, then close the lid and come back in about 1 1/2 hours. That's it! No dry cycle, hang them out, small loads and no
"Sechage" (dry cycle) The other unique thing about the washer/dryer is that to start the machine you push the buttom marked "Depart". Don't you just love it! My clothes are going on a journey! Now, that is one of the reasons why traveling is so interesting!

The Electronics Store - so ever since I got here to France I have had slow to non-existent Internet.  I tried to connect up to my apartment's Internet wifi and my phone (or PC) keep freaking out. I get this French error message. I think what is basically happening is that the U.S. and France do things differently and my apparatus are confused. I found out, after arriving here, that my DVD player cannot be played on the European current (even with my converter) How did I find out? I was playing a DVD in my player (using my converter) and I walk away for a minute, come back and it's not working. I try plugging in and pulling out the connection. I try turning it off and then back on. Nothing. Well, then I look at the instructions from the owner of the apartment and she suggests I buy an adapter because just a converter won't work in all cases.  So, I take off for the electronic store, Darty - large and modern, and I find a sales person and try with my very limited French and my bing translator, to tell him what my problem is.  Fortunately he speaks English. So, he tells me that I need to go back home and see if the 600mA (or less) is listed on the back of the device then I can use the adapter with my devices. So, I go back to my apartment and look at my devices, i.e. my DVD player, my curling iron, and such. I am trying to read what the fine print on the back of each of these devices say versus the 600mA and can't see a correlation. So, when I speak to the rental agent, he says that I should just look on the back of the package to see if it says that it works with American appliances.  (Already sounds like a Home Depot project day doesn't it?) So, I go back to Darty, mind you, haven't bought anything yet, and look at the package and it doesn't say anything about being compatible with American made products but I say, what the hey, it only costs about $10 American so I buy it, take it back to the apartment and try it out with my DVD player and it "fits" and I have the right "voltage" but, it still doesn't work. I think I burned out the DVD unit. I think I still better use an adapter with my curling iron because when I use it it heats up REALLY fast and REALLY hot! Don't want to burn my hair!

So, I was speaking with my French friend the other day and she was asking me how it was going. I was telling her about the Internet stuff and the adapter stuff and the challenges there - not to mention my weird sleep patterns. I told her the word for the day is "Adapt". Yeah, like the adapter. Things are different here and they may remain different here and that is part of the beauty of the experience.  Adapt! Good stuff is coming my way! Go with the flow!